When our coach training school, the Jay Shetty Certification School, opened its virtual doors in March 2020, literally days after the first lockdowns started, we were extremely excited and passionate about our vision to change a billion lives. Armed with a curriculum to impart our wisdom onto aspiring coaches and an online platform to connect our material and students together, we thought our delivery was close to perfect! Maybe it was…but during the past year we realized a few important things too…These are the elements and experiences that make a coach training school truly transformational and special.
#1 – Applying wisdom is everything
Having wisdom and knowledge is great and makes a person feel smart and useful, but information without application is like a watchdog without teeth. Knowledge is a tool with which to build the wisdom that can be used to forge change. According to a Guinean saying, “knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand.” It will simply drain away without adding value to anything around it. Wisdom, on the other hand, is a precious nutrient of the mind that encourages positive change in the self and others. Likewise, wisdom without action is also wasteful as it is the integration of the passion and understanding in a person that inspires a better future.At the coach training school, we recognize that wisdom motivates action, but that people must apply what they have learned in practice to change lives. Lead from the front and set an encouraging example and more and more people will follow in your footsteps.
#2 – Coaching is a science and an art
Coaching is certainly not a new practice or skill and has been around for thousands of years. However, until recently coaches, trainers, and mentors have mostly used their intuition and experience to extend their approaches to different people. Coaching was mostly an art that was recreated with every new individual seeking guidance.While this eclectic direction involves creativity and personalization, we also see the importance of building and maintaining the scientific principles of coaching models and mechanisms. In other words, if one can develop a reliable model of moving a person from point A to point B, the inputs predict the end point. In simpler words, if we replicate the process closely enough, the likelihood of a successful outcome is much higher than using no system at all. Also, building and refining such a framework means that we can teach it to students who can go and apply it on their clients with the same success.Connected to the artfulness of creativity and eclectic person-centered ideas, the science of coaching helps make more professionals more effective to fulfill the growing demand for positive change.
#3 – Practice makes perfect
Coaching has a different intention and approach compared to your other everyday interpersonal connections with family, friends, and colleagues. As an interaction primarily based on listening and asking questions to help clients gain awareness and figure out their best solutions and actions, being a good coach requires a different orientation developed by practice.Many new coaches feel awkward at first to ask a lot of questions, limit reciprocating with their experience and advice, and explore deeply. They mention feeling like an imposter at times and doubt whether they are the best person to guide the client forward. At the coach training school, we quickly realized that these feelings are natural and common. It is only by practicing in real and simulated coaching situations that coaches build the confidence and skills to apply the coaching principles seamlessly and effectively.
#4 – We need each other!
The heartfelt realization that we have come to in the past year is the deep interconnectedness between all people. Our most profound need is to belong. To be a part of something larger than us, where we can pursue and live our passion and purpose. To be accepted and valued by like minded people.The enrolment, support, and supervision teams connect regularly with students and alumni and encourage school-wide interaction and community-building through webinars, group calls, and online forums. Thereby, we are all able to pool and optimize resources and share valuable experiences to support everyone’s coaching efforts. As Jay always reminds us of the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” We believe in the strength of connections and collective effort rather than striving for individual benefits and ego. Everyone of us has something to offer; a unique contribution to help others make a difference. Where the collective outcome far exceeds the sum of all the individual inputs!
#5 – We can create a ripple effect
The ability to work together, learn from each other, and utilize the power of connections tie in with creating a ripple effect that extends beyond original expectations. This belief is a core principle that we pursue at our coach training school. We take a small step to change something that may seem insignificant, and then another step, and another. With each movement we gain momentum and increase the distance in the right direction. Like a rolling stone gathering moss, we also gain followers and supporters along the way. Our movement to change lives through coaching is already making tangible differences to thousands of people. The change is exponential. What might have seemed incredible to us just one year ago, now appears very possible with the ripple effect that our coach training school has initiated.
